Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
It may be what you say, but it also may be that people know that they don't cast a primary vote until February, so it's all a bit remote for most people right now.
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I disagree. In the history of elections in our lifetimes, who the Democratic nominee will be is probably as un-remote as it will ever be. Now, relative to mid-2020, it may still be a bit remote, but this is not an ordinary election.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
You don't have to have fighting and accusations of racism and the bringing up of shit and all of the rest. Neither Gore nor Kerry beat Bush*, but they both unified the party pretty well. As did Obama after a race with Clinton that got pretty bitter at times. Whether you blame Clinton or Sanders or both for what happened the last time, it wasn't inevitable (and if you think it was inevitable, doesn't that let either/both off the hook?).
The eventual nominee isn't necessarily weakened by the primary process. They are strengthened by it too. Biden hasn't run at the top of the ticket in a long time -- doing it in the primary should make him better for the general. Warren needs to figure out how to run as an executive, not a legislator. And so on, for all of the other candidates. They need a chance to make some mistakes when the primary audience is sympathetic Democrats, and swing voters aren't paying attention. They need to figure out which messages work, and how to tailor their appeal to different audiences. They need to figure out how to appeal to Democrats without turning off independents.
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I think political wonks, like you, are stuck on how things used to (and how they're supposed to) work. These days are mostly over. And in the immediate case, with the guy who currently occupies the office, all the rules we're used to are out the fucking window.
Honing your message, taking on critics and strengthening your debate chops, fashioning your message so that it appeals to the broadest audience? That shit is history. Now, you are in danger of having lunatics stay home or jump to Gary fucking Johnson if you aren't progressive enough to please Susan Sarandon. And being that progressive doesn't fucking translate to the general. Last time around, Bernie helped define Hillary as the Goldman Sachs candidate. Trump jumped all over that bullshit. Bernie stayed in too long and didn't properly galvanize his crazy ass following behind Hillary when she needed it. Corey Booker knows he's not going to win. Why isn't anyone telling him to fucking bounce? de Blasio? "If I don't make gains, I'll leave next month"?? Are you stupid? You won't even win your next election in the bluest city in the country. Buttigieg? I know this is great for you, personally--your name recognition is rising. Maybe you're the future of the Party. But right now, get to fucking steppin'. Beto? You're a selfish fucking asshole for not leaving and running for Senate. That's how you can best serve this country. But you're not interested in that. You're interested in how to best serve yourself.
The longer we spend tearing down the eventual nominee in the primaries, the more danger we'll be in of repeating 2016. All focus needs to be on Trump. I mean, fuck. Biden's completely legitimate stance on healthcare: "Let's fix Obamacare, actually support it, and make it work the way it was meant to" now reads like a conservative manifesto to so many in the party who think they're getting a full public option.
I just think we need to stop acting like this election process--from primary through the general--is anything like it used to be. It's not. Come together, make sure you know who the nominee is, the next closest person is the running mate, hand out cabinet positions, and start figuring out how to keep Republicans from cheating and spend all of the Party money building up the nominee and fighting Republican bullshit.
TM
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